


and a happy new year

by KassWritesStarker



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M, Missions Gone Wrong, New Year's Eve, New Year's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:20:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28526124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KassWritesStarker/pseuds/KassWritesStarker
Summary: This was an unconventional way to welcome the new year but when had anything in their lives ever been anything but?Tony and Peter celebrate New Year's eve. Kind of.
Relationships: Peter Parker/Tony Stark
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26
Collections: 2020 Marvel Holiday Secret Santa





	and a happy new year

**Author's Note:**

  * For [unsettled](https://archiveofourown.org/users/unsettled/gifts).



“I’m going to kill you, Parker!”

It was kind of ironic that those were the first words Tony chose to greet him with, given that Peter had almost died the last time they had seen each other. It wasn’t funny enough to laugh about, nothing about this situation was remotely funny, but Peter still found himself giggling. 

Maybe those special pain meds Bruce had given him were doing their job after all. 

One actual look at his boyfriend’s face was enough to make Peter go quiet within seconds. Tony wasn’t laughing with him. He looked downright furious. And concerned. And scared. _That_ was the worst part. Peter had gotten quite good at dealing with an angry Tony but a frightened one still made him want to run for the hills. 

He opened his mouth, unsure what to say and how to explain himself in a way that didn’t sound stupid, when the arrival of Rhodey saved him. 

“Tony!” Rhodey grabbed the other man by the arm, effectively holding him back. “You have to calm down. Bruce already told us that he’s fine. Stop making a scene.” 

“I’m not making a scene,” Tony muttered and Peter just barely stopped himself from saying that no, he really was making a scene. Rhodey was right. He was totally _fine_. So he blacked out for a while after getting hit by… he didn’t exactly remember what he got hit by but what did it matter?  
  
They were all alive and breathing. At least that’s what Bruce had told him. 

“What were you thinking?” 

Peter blinked, his somewhat blurry vision giving away to the clear walls of the med bay. Okay, maybe he was still a little under the weather but Tony was going crazy over nothing. Hell, he looked two seconds away from tearing himself out of Rhodey’s grasp. 

“I was thinking that I had to save you from that explosion,” Peter answered, voice weaker than he had intended it to be. Damn it. He’d never win this argument if Tony had an actual reason to believe that he wasn’t alright. “Super healing and all that, remember?”  
  
His boyfriend huffed but appeared to finally calm down. It was enough for Rhodey to finally let go and nudge his shoulder gently. Peter threw the man a thankful look, somewhat envious of how easy it was for him to get Tony down from one of his nervous trips. 

Well, Rhodey had been by his side longer than anyone else. It only made sense. Peter would get there. Eventually. At least that’s what the older man continued to tell him every time the topic of Tony arose in one of their conversations. 

Peter sighed. “Can you give us a second?” 

Rhodey gave his answer in form of a quick nod and a soft, “I’m sorry, Pete. I tried to stop him from showing up like this but you know how he gets when it comes to you.” 

“I’m right here,” Tony said quietly, although his gaze wasn’t even focused on his best friend. Those brown eyes Peter had come to love were on him and him alone. It made him feel both light-headed and somber at the same time. 

Only Tony Stark could do this and truth be told, Peter didn’t want it any other way. 

Rhodey departed quickly and silently, not that either of them noticed. Tony was already moving towards the bed, reaching for the chair right beside it. When he sat down, Peter still felt that he was too far away from he’d take what he could get for now. 

Neither of them said anything for a few seconds until the tense silence must have gotten too much for his boyfriend’s already anxious mood. 

“I could have taken the hit.” He wasn’t meeting Peter’s eyes, instead choosing to stare at the spotless white wall on the other side of the room. “I _should_ have taken it. You had no business interfering with that.” 

“Why not? I told you, my super healing-”  
  
“I had my suit.” 

“Do you mean the suit that was two seconds away from breaking apart around you?” 

That comment finally made Tony look at him. Granted, it was a glare instead of the loving gaze Peter had grown so fond of but it was better than nothing. So what if he sounded like a petulant child? Tony wasn’t being any more mature about this than he was. 

“Peter.” 

He shrugged. “What? I’m not lying. You can’t possibly believe that the suit could have taken the force of that hit.” 

No answer. Of course. Tony was one of if not _the_ smartest man in the world. He must have known that it was over as soon as he saw those hungry flames creeping towards him. If Peter hadn’t acted when he did, they wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. They wouldn’t be having any conversation. 

Beside him, his boyfriend let out a frustrated sigh. 

“You got hurt because of me. Don’t you get why I’m so angry about that?” The older man rubbed a hand over his tired face, only highlighting the exhaustion in all of his features. “Losing you like that would kill me.” 

And just like that, all of Peter’s anger and frustration was gone. Every irrational thought disappeared into thin air, leaving nothing behind but the love he was feeling for the man next to him. God, they made quite the pair. 

He tentatively reached for Tony’s hand in hopes that his boyfriend wouldn’t pull away. He didn’t, _thank god_ , and Peter was free to intertwine their fingers. Moving his right arm as well as his leg still hurt but he was willing to make sacrifices for this.  
  
He was always ready to make sacrifices for them, big or small. 

“Tony, I’m _fine_. You heard Bruce tell you so.” A weak smile spread across his face. “And we both know that Bruce would never lie about something like that, especially not just to make you feel better.” 

The older man’s gaze was locked onto both their hands but Peter knew that he had been listening to everything that had been said. Even when Tony looked like he wasn’t paying attention he was still more observant than most. 

“I guess.” The admission was quiet, so quiet that Peter had to thank his super-hearing for picking it up. He allowed his smile to grow just a bit as he squeezed Tony’s hand. His boyfriend huffed but squeezed back after another few seconds. 

“It’s just… I didn’t imagine spending New Year’s Eve like this.” 

For the shortest moment, Peter considered mentioning that this was so much better than searching the rubble and debris for Tony’s body but they were getting somewhere and it wasn’t worth ruining that for a bad joke. 

“I know,” was the peaceful option he settled with at the end. Peter shifted in his bed, causing a sharp pain in his lower back. He grimaced through it, unwilling to give the older man yet another reason to freak out. “Did I sleep through it?”  
  
A shame. Peter loved watching the fireworks welcoming in the new year. This one had been rough and unforgiving, so much so that almost everyone was waiting to put it behind them and start new. Peter didn’t feel very different about it… although it had also been the year that finally drove him into Tony’s arms so he was more forgiving than most. 

Tony checked his watch, squinting at the small numbers. Why he wouldn’t just give in and use the reading glasses Peter had gotten him was beyond his understanding. 

“Nope, you woke up just in time. 5 more minutes and we’ll ring in the new year.” The older man leveled him with a stare. “Your new year’s resolution better be to never scare me like that again.” Peter snorted. “I’m serious.”  
  
“Alright, alright.” 

It would do him no good to point out that with the lives they were living, it was almost impossible to promise that. Besides, Peter could always try to be more careful. There had been a few close calls in the past that were brought on by his own recklessness. 

“Thank you.” The kiss Tony pressed to the back of his hand made his heart flutter. 

“I have one for you as well,” Peter piped up as soon as he was sure that his voice wouldn’T give out on him. His boyfriend didn’t say anything, merely raising one of his eyebrows in curiosity. “Use those reading glasses so you don’t have to squint at your watch all the time.” 

Tony rolling his eyes in an over-dramatic fashion broke the last bit of control Peter had. He burst out into laughter, careful not to move too much. The last thing he needed was screaming in pain because he’d overdone it once again. 

“Haha,” the older man said in a monotone voice, “Very funny. I see you’re planning to start the new year with a bad joke. I shouldn’t be surprised by that.”  
  
“It wasn’t _bad_ .”  
  
“It was.”  
  
“You only say that because you never see how funny you look when you do it.” 

“Are you done?” Peter opened his mouth, ready to make up another joke on the spot but Tony beat him to it, “Because I can leave you to it if that’s what you want.” 

That did the trick. Even though it wasn’t fair Peter snapped his mouth shut and pouted at his boyfriend, who looked way too proud of himself for someone who had to cheat like that to win an argument. 

“Rude,” he muttered under his breath. Apparently, it was loud enough for Tony to hear because now it was his turn to start laughing. Peter would have slapped his arm if he had been willing to risk the pain. “Does that mean I won’t get my kiss?” 

This was their first New Year’s Eve together. Surely Tony wouldn’t take the kiss away from him. Peter had been looking forward to it throughout the entire month of December. 

Tony’s features softened in the blink of an eye. He reached forward, gently brushing a lock of hair out of Peter’s face. “Of course you’ll get your kiss. You’re not the only one who has waited for his.” 

As if on command the watch started beeping, signaling the start of the new year. And while Peter couldn’t complain too much about the last one, given where it had led him, he still hoped that this one would turn out to be even better. 

His lips were captured in a gentle kiss before he had the chance to say any of it. Peter didn’t complain. How could he when he had the love of his life showing him that he was loved just as much? He simply closed his eyes and marveled at the warmth that was Tony. 

He wasn’t sure how long the kiss lasted but Peter was breathless by the time the older man pulled back. The goofy grin on his face would have made him blush at any other time but there was a similar one on Tony’s own face, reflecting his own happiness. 

“Happy New Year, Tony.” 

“Happy New Year, Pete.” 

This year would turn out to be the best one yet, of that Peter was sure. 


End file.
